D L Carlson Investment Group Inc. Trims Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

D L Carlson Investment Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 8.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,868 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 901 shares during the period. D L Carlson Investment Group Inc.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $1,396,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Check Capital Management Inc. CA boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.1% during the first quarter. Check Capital Management Inc. CA now owns 182,876 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $25,873,000 after buying an additional 3,676 shares during the period. Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Hancock Whitney Corp boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 68,903 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $9,748,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares during the period. Hollencrest Capital Management increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 24.7% during the first quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 1,010 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $143,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 101.3% during the first quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 39,032 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $5,522,000 after purchasing an additional 19,639 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.76% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on DGX. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $145.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Thursday, August 3rd. Piper Sandler began coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Thursday, June 29th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $149.90.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

DGX stock opened at $127.23 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $14.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.52 and a beta of 0.95. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $120.40 and a fifty-two week high of $158.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $135.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $136.80.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 26th. The medical research company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $0.07. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.37% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The business had revenue of $2.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.36 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 6th will be issued a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 5th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is currently 41.34%.

About Quest Diagnostics

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated provides diagnostic testing, information, and services in the United States and internationally. The company develops and delivers diagnostic information services, such as routine testing, non-routine and advanced clinical testing, anatomic pathology testing, and other diagnostic information services.